Rams show resolve in win over Saints, one week after flinching against Vikings

There was a subtlety to Rams urgency this week. It was obvious without being overbearing. Present but not noisy.

They needed a win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in the worst way after losing last week to the Vikings, a prominent NFC power and a potential future playoff opponent. To restore any lost confidence upon losing to a quality opponent, stay one step ahead of their division foe Seattle Seahawks and maintain pace with the rest of the NFC’s playoff contenders.

And whether they wanted to openly admit it or not, to confirm to themselves and everyone else they’re capable of not just going toe-to-toe with another playoff caliber team, but beating them.

“To show that we are something to be reckoned with,” is how Rams defensive end Robert Quinn put it.

Sure, the Rams had won seven of their first 10 games, many in convincing fashion behind the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL. But who had they played? Who had they really beaten?

Just as important, look who they lost to: The Vikings, Seahawks and Redskins. To date, the best three teams on their schedule.

It’s complex stuff, confidence and faith and conviction in one’s self. And no matter how much you try to fake it till you make it, eventually a moment of reckoning arrives and your choices are clear.

You either respond or you don’t.

These Rams respond, as we learned on Sunday in their 26-20 win over the red-hot Saints. The victory is another step in what’s shaping up as one of the more remarkable season-to-season turnarounds in recent memory.

The win moves them to 8-3, a game ahead of the Seahawks with five to play. In the span of seven days, they reclaimed whatever momentum they lost last week in Minnesota, and re-established themselves as one of the best teams in […]